Katy Perry’s comeback single ‘Woman’s World’ has had a bumpy response from fans – failing to crack the Top 50 on the US charts and ranking low in the UK.
Arriving earlier this month (July 11), the song came following the singer having teased it for several weeks. It sees Perry on a mission to empower women around the world: “Sexy, confident / So intelligent / She is heaven-sent / So soft, so strong / She’s a winner, champion / Superhuman, number one / She’s a sister, she’s a mother“, she sings.
The video finds Perry and a collection of other women carrying out tasks normally associated with masculinity, from construction work (while cosplaying as Rosie the Riveter) to driving monster trucks.
However, following the release, the track divided fans and sparked backlash. Many found the video catered to the male gaze rather than challenging it, and the involvement of Dr. Luke proved controversial.
Dr. Luke was the hitmaker who was accused of emotional abuse and sexual assault in a decade-long lawsuit by Kesha. After Kesha sued him, the producer denied the allegations and countersued the artist, claiming she had breached the recording contract they had with one another and made up rape allegations in an attempt to get out of the deal.
Kesha and Dr Luke’s legal battle came to an end last summer with the pair settling just one month before it was supposed to go to trial, with no conviction or admission of guilt on Luke’s part. Kesha has maintained her original claims against him.
Now, it has been reported that ‘Woman’s World’ has failed to crack the Top 50 on the US Billboard charts, and has charted low in the UK.
In its first full week, the single debuted at Number 63 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and at Number 65 on the Global 200. In the UK, it came in at number 47.
Variety also highlighted how the turnout on streaming services was relatively lacklustre – landing at Number 110 on Spotify’s US chart and Number 58 on the Spotify global chart.
The pop star’s last solo hit to appear on the Hot 100 was 2020’s single ‘Daisies’. The song was taken from her ‘Smile’ album and peaked at Number 40 before dropping off the list. Before then, one of her stronger performances came with the track ‘Chained To The Rhythm’ – taken from ‘Witness’ – which broke through at Number 4 on the Hot 100.
Since the release of ‘Woman’s World’, Perry has gone on to explain to fans that it was intended to be “satire”.
“We’re kind of just having fun, being a bit sarcastic with it. It’s very slapstick and very on the nose,” she said.
“And with this set, it’s like, ‘Oooh, we’re not about the male gaze but we really are about the male gaze,’ and we’re really overplaying it and on the nose because I’m about to get smashed which is like a reset for me, and a reset for my idea of feminine divine, and it’s a whole different world we go to after this.”
The song is taken from Perry’s upcoming album ‘143’, for which the singer shared the artwork recently. It is set for release on September 20 and is available for pre-sale / pre-order here.
Speaking about the album this week, she described it as a “dance party” to which “everyone’s invited”. “It’s called 143. It’s my angel number. It’s my symbol, it’s my sign,” she explained. “A couple years ago, we were going through a little bit of a hard time medically in our family, and it was a little bit scary, and I started seeing 143 in many different ways, not just on the phone.”
She began teasing her new era in May by changing her profile picture and hinted at her return to music by teasing “one of [her] biggest songs that has yet to come out” whilst speaking at an American Idol event.
Last December, it was reported that the pop star was gearing up to release her “most personal” material yet in 2024. It was said at the time that plans for a world tour were also underway.
2020’s ‘Smile’ is Perry’s last studio album, serving as her fifth record. NME reviewed the album at the time, giving it two stars and writing: “It’s frustrating, as this is the woman behind some of the most fun – and biggest-selling – songs of all time. But as much as you want ‘Smile’ to be a return to form, her fifth album’s songs fail to grip. All in all, ‘Smile’ lacks the fireworks of Perry’s record-breaking years.”
Perry has has had her relationship with Dr. Luke brought into the spotlight in the past, when Kesha previously alleged that Perry was also a victim of abuse at the hands of Dr Luke. Perry strongly denied this and a judge later ruled that Kesha had defamed Dr. Luke by suggesting as much.
In 2018, Perry said that she “felt pressured” to support Kesha. She also revealed that she felt like “Luke was using me as a pawn” to assert his innocence, and that she was “annoyed” with both parties.
Dr. Luke was not involved in making her 2017 album ‘Witness’, which she added was because she didn’t want to feel like she was “picking a side”. Kesha tweeted “lol” as the news came out, which was assumed to be a response to Perry collaborating with Dr Luke again.